Question

What are the benefits you see of evidence-based medicine? What gaps does it seek to fill that were previously ignored?

Research counter-arguments to the use of evidence-based medicine. What points do scholars bring up regarding its problems?

Cite at least two outside articles - one in favor of evidence-based medicine and one against evidence-based medicine.

Answer 1

Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)

Evidence-Based Medicine or EBM is the practice of integrating the patient values and clinical expertise with the best-proven research evidence. Many health care institutions are practicing EBM since the 1990s. McMaster University introduced the concept of EBM to the health care industry. The best quality health care at the minimum cost by providing standards obtained from the evidence of clinical researches is the objective of Evidence-Based Medicine. EBM emphasize to utilize the best research evidence from large clinical trials as a basis for medical decision makings.

Benefits of EBM

1. Provides consistency of care and treatment by utilizing standardized guidelines.

2. Maximize the patient outcomes

3. Standardize patient care throughout the nation

4. Helps to establish the criterion for the measuring and incentivizing of the performance-based medical care.

5. Provides an objective way to implement the highest quality care and maintain the optimum safety standards in health care institutions.

6. EBM helps to enhance the process of applying the research findings into real-life medical practices

7. Reduces medical costs.

Gaps that EBM fills

EBM was introduced to avoid clinical practice variations by providing standardized guidelines to all health care institutions and practitioners. The best evidence obtained through large clinical trials and researches were the basis of making such standard guidelines. This seeks to standardize the treatments and care provided throughout the nation rather than considering individual practitioners as a sole decision maker. In the traditional approach, the individual practitioners were the sole decision makers for the treatments of patients under their care and thus there were clinical practice variations among different health care institutions. In EBM, the best research evidence is the basis of the decision-making process of patient care and thus all should follow the same guidelines and thus avoiding variations in practice. Thus EBM provides a good scientific foundation for the clinical practice and provides consistency of care which was lacking in the traditional approach. EBM avoids the over or under usages of medical care based on individual practitioners. By providing standardized care, the patients have accessibility to the same standard of care regardless of the place where they are seeking treatments.

Counter - Arguments:

1. The conditions under which the researches conducted are difficult to replicate in real-life medical practices.

2. EBM disregards the importance of expert opinions and their clinical experiences.